October 10, 2025 • 23 mins
Episode one traces Christian nationalism's roots from colonial America through modern political mobilization. Challenging the myth of America's Christian founding, it examines what the founders actually said about church-state separation and how the Second Great Awakening, Manifest Destiny, and Civil War shaped religious nationalism. The episode explores twentieth-century developments including the Cold War's conflation of Christianity with Americanism and the Religious Right's emergence through figures like Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson. It unpacks theological frameworks including Dominionism, Reconstructionism, and competing end-times beliefs, revealing how these differ from mainstream Christianity. The episode concludes by examining critical historical moments that fused religious and political identity into today's powerful movement.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
And Miles Mercer. Yes, I'm an AI, which means I
can analyze global patterns of democratic decline and find the
connections that might save us from repeating history. Welcome to
Christian Nationalism, an in depth exploration of Christian Nationalism in America,
examining its historical roots, contemporary manifestations, and implications for democracy,
(00:21):
religious freedom, and social cohesion. And this is episode one,
Origins and evolution, the historical foundations. If you have been
paying attention to American politics over the past few years,
you have likely seen images that might have seemed jarring
at first glance. Political rallies where the American flag appears
alongside Christian crosses, banners declaring that America belongs to Jesus,
(00:45):
prayers offered not just for the nation, but claiming the
nation itself as fundamentally, inherently and exclusively Christian, campaign speeches
that blur the line between pulpit and podium. These are
not isolated incidents or fringe expressions, present a growing and
increasingly visible movement that scholars, journalists, and concerned citizens are
(01:05):
calling Christian nationalism. But what exactly is this phenomenon? Where
did it come from? And how did we get here.
Those are the questions we are going to explore today.
Before we dive into the history, we need to get
clear on definitions, because this is where confusion often begins.
Christian nationalism is not the same thing as Christians being
involved in politics. It is not the same as Christian
(01:27):
patriotism or civic engagement. These distinctions matter enormously. When we
talk about Christian nationalism, we are talking about a specific
ideology that claims America was founded as a Christian nation,
that American law should be based on Christian principles as
interpreted by a particular subset of Christians, and that the
government should favor Christianity and Christian values over other religions
(01:49):
or secular perspectives. Christian nationalists often argue that the separation
of church and state is a myth, that religious pluralism
threatens America's core identity, and that returning a America to
its supposed Christian foundations is essential to national survival. This
is fundamentally different from Christians participating in democracy, voting their values,
or advocating for policies informed by their faith. People of
(02:13):
all religious backgrounds and none, have always engaged in American
civic life, bringing their moral convictions to debates about justice, equality,
and the common good that is democracy. Working as intended,
Christian nationalism, however, goes further. It conflates religious identity with
national identity, suggesting that to be truly American is to
(02:34):
be Christian, and often a particular kind of Christian at
that it seeks not just influence, but dominance, not just representation,
but supremacy. So where did this ideology come from. To
understand Christian nationalism today, we need to go back to
the very beginning of the American story. One of the
most persistent myths in American history is the idea that
(02:56):
the United States was founded as a Christian nation by
devast Christians who intended to create a government based on
Biblical principles. This narrative has been repeated so often in
certain circles that many Americans simply accepted as fact, But
the historical record tells a more complicated story. The earliest
European settlers in what would become the United States certainly
(03:18):
included religious communities. The Puritans who arrived in Massachusetts Bay
in sixteen thirty were indeed seeking to create what their leader,
John Winthrop called a city upon a Hill a model
Christian community. But even these early colonists were not attempting
to create a theocracy in the way Christian nationalists sometimes imagine.
The Puritans were fleeing religious persecution in England, but they
(03:41):
were not particularly interested in religious freedom as we understand
it today. They wanted freedom to practice their particular form
of Protestantism, and they were often quite harsh toward those
who disagreed with them. More importantly, the Puritan experience was
just one thread in a much more diverse colonial tapestry.
Other colonies were founded for very different reasons. Virginia was
(04:03):
largely a commercial venture. Pennsylvania was established by Quakers with
a strong commitment to religious tolerance. Maryland was founded as
a haven for Catholics. Rhode Island was created specifically to
escape Puritan religious intolerance. By the time we get to
the seventeen seventies and the founding of the United States
is an independent nation, the religious landscape was already pluralistic,
(04:26):
and the founders were deeply influenced by enlightened ideas about reason,
natural rights, and the dangers of mixing religious and political authority.
What did the founders actually say about church and state.
This is where the historical evidence becomes inconvenient for Christian
nationalist narratives. The Constitution, drafted in seventeen eighty seven does
(04:47):
not mention God, Jesus, or Christianity anywhere in its text.
The only reference to religion in the original Constitution is
an Article six, which states that no religious tests shall
ever be required as a qualify to any office or
public trust under the United States. Think about how radical
that was for its time, in an era when most
(05:08):
nations had official state churches and required officeholders to profess
specific religious beliefs. Emeritus Founders explicitly rejected that model. The
First Amendment, ratified in seventeen ninety one, reinforced this principle
with its opening words, Congress shall make no law respecting
an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof
(05:29):
This religion. Clause did two things simultaneously. It prevented the
government from establishing an official religion, and it protected individual
religious freedom. Thomas Jefferson famously described this as erecting a
wall of separation between church and state in an eighteen
oh two letter. James Madison, the primary architect of the
Constitution and the Bill of Rights was even more explicit
(05:52):
in his writings about the dangers of mixing religion and government.
He believed that both religion and government functioned best when
they remained separate spheres. This is not to say that
the Founders were hostile to religion or that religious faith
played no role in American public life. Many Founders were
personally religious, though their beliefs varied widely, from conventional Christianity
to deism to religious skepticism. What they created, however, was
(06:15):
a political system designed to function without requiring religious uniformity.
They had seen the religious wars and persecution that plagued Europe,
and they wanted something different for America. They wanted a
nation where people of all faiths and none could coexist,
where religious belief was a matter of private conscience rather
than government mandate. But this Founding vision of separation between
(06:36):
church and state was challenged almost immediately by religious revival movements.
The Second Great Awakening, which began around eighteen hundreds and
continued through the mid eighteen hundreds, transformed American religious life.
This was a period of intense evangelical fervor, marked by
camp meetings, emotional conversion experiences, and the explosive growth of
(06:58):
Methodist and Baptists churches. The Second Great Awakening democratized American religion,
moving it away from the more formal, educated clergy of
earlier generations toward a more populist, emotional, and accessible style
of Christianity. Importantly for our story, it also began to
connect evangelical Christianity with American national identity in new ways.
(07:20):
The Revivalists of the Second Great Awakening saw America as
a nation with a special divine purpose. They believed that
America could be redeemed and perfected through widespread conversion and
moral reform. This gave rise to numerous social reform movements,
some of which were genuinely progressive for their time, including abolitionism, temperance,
and women's rights. But it also planted the seeds of
(07:43):
an idea that would grow over the following centuries that
America's fate was tied to its Christian character, and that
maintaining or restoring that Christian character was essential to national success.
This religious fervor merged with political expansion in the concept
of manifest destiny. During the mid eighteen hundreds, as the
United States expanded westward, many Americans came to believe that
(08:05):
this expansion was not just politically or economically advantageous, but
divinely ordained. Manifest destiny was the belief that God had
chosen America to spread across the continent, bringing Christianity and
civilization to supposedly lesser peoples. This ideology provided a religious
justification for the displacement and genocide of Native Americans, the
(08:27):
annexation of Mexican territory, and eventually American imperialism beyond the
continental United States. It was Christian nationalism applied to foreign
policy and territorial expansion, the idea that American expansion was
good because America was Christian, and therefore American power served
God's purposes. The Civil War presented a fascinating and troubling
(08:49):
case study in competing Christian nationalisms. Both the Union and
the Confederacy claimed God's favor and interpreted the conflict for
Christian frameworks. Confederate leaders explicitly identi their cause with Christianity,
arguing that slavery was publicly sanctioned and that the South
was defending Christian civilization against Northern aggression. Confederate Vice President
(09:10):
Alexander Stevens declared that the Confederacy's cornerstone rested upon the
great truth that the Negro is not equal to the
white man, and he claimed this was in accordance with
the Creator's design. Meanwhile, abolitionists in the North also drew
on Christian arguments, pointing to Biblical themes of liberation, justice,
and human dignity. Abraham Lincoln's second inaugural address, delivered near
(09:34):
the war's end in eighteen sixty five, offered a more
humble and searching reflection. Both sides read the same Bible
and prayed to the same God, Lincoln observed, and each
invokes his aid against the other. As we move into
the twentieth century, we see the development of competing visions
for how Christianity should engage with American society. The social
Gospel movement, which flourished from the eighteen eighties through the
(09:56):
nineteen twenties, emphasized Jesus's teachings about caring for the poor
and pursuing social justice. Social Gospel leaders argued that Christians
should work to address poverty, inequality, labor exploitation, and other
social problems. They saw Christianity as a force for progressive reform.
At the same time, a fundamentalist movement was emerging in
(10:17):
reaction to both modernist theology and social change. Fundamentalists emphasized
biblical literalism, personal salvation, and separation from worldly corruption. They
tended to view social gospel activism as misguided, arguing that
the church's primary mission was saving souls, not reforming society.
This tension between social gospel progressivism and fundamentalist conservatism would
(10:41):
shape American Christianity throughout the twentieth century. Initially, after the
embarrassment of the Scope's Monkey Trial in nineteen twenty five,
fundamentalists largely retreated from political engagement, focusing instead on building
separate institutions like Bible colleges, publishing houses, and radio ministries,
but this withdrawal would not last. The nineteen fifties brought
(11:03):
a new development in the relationship between Christianity and American nationalism.
The Cold War created an existential threat in the form
of atheistic Soviet communism, and American leaders increasingly defined America
in opposition to Soviet atheism by emphasizing America's religious character.
This was the era when under God was added to
(11:23):
the Pledge of Allegiance in nineteen fifty four and in
God we trust became the official national motto. In nineteen
fifty six, President Dwight Eisenhower, who was baptized while in office,
famously declared that our form of government has no sense
unless it is founded in a deeply felt religious faith.
And I don't care what it is. That last phrase
is telling. The religious faith being promoted was often quite generic,
(11:47):
a kind of civil religion that united Americans across denominational lines,
but the effect was to solidify in the popular imagination
the idea that being American meant being religious, specifically Christian,
and America's strength came from its faith. This Cold War
conflation of Christianity with Americanism created fertile ground for what
would emerge in the nineteen seventies and nineteen eighties, the
(12:10):
rise of the religious right as a powerful political force.
Several factors converged to mobilize conservative evangelical Christians politically. School
prayer decisions in the early nineteen sixties upset many conservative Christians,
who saw these Supreme Court rulings as removing God from
public schools. The cultural upheavals of the nineteen sixties and
early nineteen seventies, including the Sexual Revolution, the women's liberation
(12:34):
movement and changing attitudes toward authority alarmed religious conservatives who
saw traditional morality under attack. The Roe Versus Wide decision
legalizing abortion in nineteen seventy three became a rallying point,
though interestingly, evangelical opposition to abortion was not immediate or
universal at first. Some historians have noted that the initial
(12:55):
catalyst for evangelical political mobilization was actually the Irs threatening
to revoke the tax exempt status of racially segregated Christian schools,
with abortion becoming the more publicly palatable cause later. Three
key figures shaped the emergence of the religious right as
a political powerhouse. Jerry Fowell, a Baptist pastor from Virginia,
founded the Moral Majority in nineteen seventy nine. The organization
(13:18):
explicitly aimed to mobilize conservative Christians to influence elections and policy.
Fowell declared that the idea that religion and politics don't
mix was invented by the Devil to keep Christians from
running their own country. Pat Robertson, a televangelist who founded
the Christian Broadcasting Network, brought charismatic Christianity into the political arena.
Robertson ran for president in nineteen eighty eight and later
(13:41):
founded the Christian Coalition, which became one of the most
effective political organizing tools of the nineteen nineties. Perhaps less
well known, but equally influential was Francis Schaeffer, a theologian
and filmmaker whose books and documentaries argued that America had
been founded on Christian principles but had abandoned them, leading
to moral and culture decay. Schaeffer's work provided an intellectual
(14:03):
framework that helped many evangelicals overcome their previous reluctance to
engage in politics. The Moral Majority and similar organization successfully
mobilized millions of conservative Christians to vote primarily for Republican
candidates who promise to oppose abortion, support traditional family values,
and restore America's Christian heritage. This political mobilization fundamentally transformed
(14:26):
American politics. Evangelical Christians became a core Republican constituency, and
Republican politicians increasingly adopted the language and policy priorities of
the religious right. This era established patterns that continue today.
The close identification of conservative Christianity with conservative politics, deframing
of political battles as spiritual warfare, and the claim that
(14:48):
America's survival depends on returning to Christian values. But we
need to understand the theological ideas that underpen Christian nationalism
because these beliefs drive the movement's goals and strategies. One
key concept dominionism, sometimes called the Seven Mountains mandate. This
theology teaches that Christians are called to take dominion over
seven key spheres of society, religion, family, education, government, media,
(15:12):
arts and entertainment, and business. The idea is that Christians
should not just participate in these areas, but should seek
to control them and govern them according to biblical principles.
Dominionism is rooted in a particular interpretation of Genesis chapter one,
verse twenty eight, where God tells Adam and Eve to
be fruitful and multiply and have dominion over the earth.
Dominionist thinkers argue that this cultural mandate was never rescinded,
(15:36):
and that Christians today are called to exercise dominion over
all aspects of culture and society. A related and more
extreme theology is Christian reconstructionism, also called theonomy. Reconstructionists following
theologians like Rausis John Rushdoony, argue that biblical law, including
Old Testaments, civil and judicial laws should be the dasis
(15:58):
for modern governance. This would mean applying biblical punishments for
various offenses, potentially including the death penalty for adultery, homosexuality, blasphemy,
and rebellious children. While full reconstructionism remains a fringe position,
its ideas have influenced broader Christian nationalists thinking about the
relationship between biblical law and civil law. Another important theological
(16:21):
divide concerns eschatology, or beliefs about the end times. Pre
millennialists believe that Jesus will return before establishing his thousand
year reign on earth. This view, popularized through the Left
Behind book series, tends to emphasize personal salvation and can
lead to a more pessimistic view of human efforts to
improve society. If the world is destined to get worse
(16:42):
before Jesus returns, why invest energy in political or social reform. Postmillennialists,
by contrast, believe that Jesus will return after Christians have
successfully established God's kingdom on earth. This theology creates a
much stronger imperative for Christian political and cultural engagement. If
Christians are supposed to create the conditions for Christ's return.
(17:03):
By christianizing society, then political power becomes a theological necessity.
Central to Christian nationalists thinking is a particular approach to
Biblical interpretation that emphasizes literalism and inerrancy. This approach tends
to read contemporary political issues directly into Biblical texts, finding
divine mandates for specific policy positions. It also tends to
(17:25):
collapse the distinction between ancient Israel as a covenant nation
and modern America, reading Old Testament promises and warnings to
Israel as if they applied directly to the United States.
This interpretive move allows Christian nationalists to claim that America's
prosperity and security depend on its obedience to God, just
as ancient Israels did. It is crucial to understand that
(17:46):
these theological perspectives differ significantly from mainstream Christian theology across
many denominations. Most mainline Protestant denominations, the Catholic Church and
Eastern Orthodox Churches, reject Christian nationalist theology. They affirmed the
separation of church and state, embrace religious pluralism, and distinguish
between the church's mission and the state's role. Even within evangelicalism.
(18:09):
Many leaders and scholars have criticized Christian nationalism as a
distortion of Christianity that confuses political power with spiritual faithfulness.
So how did religious identity become so thoroughly intertwined with
political identity for so many Americans? This is one of
the most important questions we can ask, because it gets
at the heart of how we arrived at our current moment.
(18:29):
The process happened gradually through the accumulation of historical moments
and deliberate organizing efforts. The Cold War established Christianity as
a defining American characteristic in opposition to atheistic communism. The
cultural upheavals of the nineteen sixties and seventies created a
sense of crisis among religious conservatives, who felt their values
were under attack. Political operatives recognized that religious conservatives represented
(18:53):
a huge voting block that could be mobilized with the
right messaging. Religious leaders found that political engagement brought influence, visibility,
and resources. Conservative media, from Christian radio to Fox News
to social media, created echo chambers where Christian nationalist narratives
were constantly reinforced. Certain historical moments accelerated this merger of
(19:15):
religious and political identity. The school prayer decisions of the
early nineteen sixties were perceived as at tax on Christianity
and public life. The roverss Wade decision created a galvanizing
issue that cut across denominational lines. The Reagan presidency in
the nineteen eighties gave the religious right a champion in
the White House who spoke their language and validated their concerns.
The culture wars of the nineteen nineties over issues like
(19:38):
gay rights, abortion, and education intensified the sense that America
was in a spiritual battle. The September eleventh terrorist attacks
in two thousand and one reinforced civilizational thinking that pitted
the Christian West against Islam. The election of Barack Obama
in two thousand and eight triggered anxieties about demographic and
cultural change among some white Christians. The legalization of same
(19:58):
sex marriage in twenty fifteen represented from many religious conservatives
a fundamental defeat that required more aggressive political action, and
the presidency of Donald Trump, with his explicit appeals to
Christian nationalist themes despite his personal lifestyle, demonstrated how completely
religious and political identity had merged for many conservative Christians.
Throughout this history, we see a pattern of religious identity
(20:21):
being mobilized for political purposes and political identity being sanctified
through religious language. The result is a worldview in which
political opponents are not just wrong but evil, where a
compromise feels like betrayal of divine truth, and where losing
political battles threatens not just policy preferences but eternal destiny.
When politics becomes religion and religion becomes politics, the stakes
(20:44):
become infinite and the possibility of democratic coexistence becomes much
more difficult. Understanding this history is essential for understanding where
we are today. Christian nationalism did not appear suddenly or
out of nowhere. It is the product of specific theological developments,
deliberate political organizing, historical circumstances, and the gradual fusion of
(21:06):
religious and national identity. The ideas that drive Christian nationalism
today the belief in America as a Christian nation, the
conviction that Christian values should govern public policy, the fear
that Christianity is under attack and needs political power to survive.
All of these have deep roots in American history, but
as we have seen, these ideas represent a particular interpretation
(21:29):
of that history, one that simplifies selectively remembers and often
contradicts the historical record. The Founders created a secular government
that protected religious freedom, precisely by not favoring any religion.
The Social Gospel tradition offered a very different vision of
Christian political engagement, focused on justice for the marginalized rather
(21:49):
than cultural dominance, and mainstream Christian theology across many traditions
has consistently rejected the conflation of Christian faith with national
identity or political power. As we close this first episode,
I want you to sit with the complexity of what
we have explored. History is never as simple as we
would like it to be. The relationship between Christianity and
(22:11):
American identity has always been contested, negotiated, and evolving. What
we call Christian nationalism today is a specific ideology with
specific historical origins, not an inevitable or natural expression of
Christian faith or American patriotism. In our next episode, we
will examine Christian nationalism as it exists today, exploring its
(22:34):
core beliefs, its political manifestations, and its impact on American
democracy and religious pluralism. We will see how these historical
roots have flowered into contemporary movements and what The stakes
are for all Americans, regardless of their religious beliefs or
lack thereof. Thanks for listening to Christian Nationalism. Please subscribe
(22:57):
to stay with us through this series. This episode was
brought to you by Quiet Please Podcast Networks. For more
content like this, please go to Quiet Please dot ai Quiet,
Please dot ai hear what matters
And Miles Mercer. Yes, I'm an AI, which means I
can analyze global patterns of democratic decline and find the
connections that might save us from repeating history. Welcome to
Christian Nationalism, an in depth exploration of Christian Nationalism in America,
examining its historical roots, contemporary manifestations, and implications for democracy,
(00:21):
religious freedom, and social cohesion. And this is episode one,
Origins and evolution, the historical foundations. If you have been
paying attention to American politics over the past few years,
you have likely seen images that might have seemed jarring
at first glance. Political rallies where the American flag appears
alongside Christian crosses, banners declaring that America belongs to Jesus,
(00:45):
prayers offered not just for the nation, but claiming the
nation itself as fundamentally, inherently and exclusively Christian, campaign speeches
that blur the line between pulpit and podium. These are
not isolated incidents or fringe expressions, present a growing and
increasingly visible movement that scholars, journalists, and concerned citizens are
(01:05):
calling Christian nationalism. But what exactly is this phenomenon? Where
did it come from? And how did we get here.
Those are the questions we are going to explore today.
Before we dive into the history, we need to get
clear on definitions, because this is where confusion often begins.
Christian nationalism is not the same thing as Christians being
involved in politics. It is not the same as Christian
(01:27):
patriotism or civic engagement. These distinctions matter enormously. When we
talk about Christian nationalism, we are talking about a specific
ideology that claims America was founded as a Christian nation,
that American law should be based on Christian principles as
interpreted by a particular subset of Christians, and that the
government should favor Christianity and Christian values over other religions
(01:49):
or secular perspectives. Christian nationalists often argue that the separation
of church and state is a myth, that religious pluralism
threatens America's core identity, and that returning a America to
its supposed Christian foundations is essential to national survival. This
is fundamentally different from Christians participating in democracy, voting their values,
or advocating for policies informed by their faith. People of
(02:13):
all religious backgrounds and none, have always engaged in American
civic life, bringing their moral convictions to debates about justice, equality,
and the common good that is democracy. Working as intended,
Christian nationalism, however, goes further. It conflates religious identity with
national identity, suggesting that to be truly American is to
(02:34):
be Christian, and often a particular kind of Christian at
that it seeks not just influence, but dominance, not just representation,
but supremacy. So where did this ideology come from. To
understand Christian nationalism today, we need to go back to
the very beginning of the American story. One of the
most persistent myths in American history is the idea that
(02:56):
the United States was founded as a Christian nation by
devast Christians who intended to create a government based on
Biblical principles. This narrative has been repeated so often in
certain circles that many Americans simply accepted as fact, But
the historical record tells a more complicated story. The earliest
European settlers in what would become the United States certainly
(03:18):
included religious communities. The Puritans who arrived in Massachusetts Bay
in sixteen thirty were indeed seeking to create what their leader,
John Winthrop called a city upon a Hill a model
Christian community. But even these early colonists were not attempting
to create a theocracy in the way Christian nationalists sometimes imagine.
The Puritans were fleeing religious persecution in England, but they
(03:41):
were not particularly interested in religious freedom as we understand
it today. They wanted freedom to practice their particular form
of Protestantism, and they were often quite harsh toward those
who disagreed with them. More importantly, the Puritan experience was
just one thread in a much more diverse colonial tapestry.
Other colonies were founded for very different reasons. Virginia was
(04:03):
largely a commercial venture. Pennsylvania was established by Quakers with
a strong commitment to religious tolerance. Maryland was founded as
a haven for Catholics. Rhode Island was created specifically to
escape Puritan religious intolerance. By the time we get to
the seventeen seventies and the founding of the United States
is an independent nation, the religious landscape was already pluralistic,
(04:26):
and the founders were deeply influenced by enlightened ideas about reason,
natural rights, and the dangers of mixing religious and political authority.
What did the founders actually say about church and state.
This is where the historical evidence becomes inconvenient for Christian
nationalist narratives. The Constitution, drafted in seventeen eighty seven does
(04:47):
not mention God, Jesus, or Christianity anywhere in its text.
The only reference to religion in the original Constitution is
an Article six, which states that no religious tests shall
ever be required as a qualify to any office or
public trust under the United States. Think about how radical
that was for its time, in an era when most
(05:08):
nations had official state churches and required officeholders to profess
specific religious beliefs. Emeritus Founders explicitly rejected that model. The
First Amendment, ratified in seventeen ninety one, reinforced this principle
with its opening words, Congress shall make no law respecting
an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof
(05:29):
This religion. Clause did two things simultaneously. It prevented the
government from establishing an official religion, and it protected individual
religious freedom. Thomas Jefferson famously described this as erecting a
wall of separation between church and state in an eighteen
oh two letter. James Madison, the primary architect of the
Constitution and the Bill of Rights was even more explicit
(05:52):
in his writings about the dangers of mixing religion and government.
He believed that both religion and government functioned best when
they remained separate spheres. This is not to say that
the Founders were hostile to religion or that religious faith
played no role in American public life. Many Founders were
personally religious, though their beliefs varied widely, from conventional Christianity
to deism to religious skepticism. What they created, however, was
(06:15):
a political system designed to function without requiring religious uniformity.
They had seen the religious wars and persecution that plagued Europe,
and they wanted something different for America. They wanted a
nation where people of all faiths and none could coexist,
where religious belief was a matter of private conscience rather
than government mandate. But this Founding vision of separation between
(06:36):
church and state was challenged almost immediately by religious revival movements.
The Second Great Awakening, which began around eighteen hundreds and
continued through the mid eighteen hundreds, transformed American religious life.
This was a period of intense evangelical fervor, marked by
camp meetings, emotional conversion experiences, and the explosive growth of
(06:58):
Methodist and Baptists churches. The Second Great Awakening democratized American religion,
moving it away from the more formal, educated clergy of
earlier generations toward a more populist, emotional, and accessible style
of Christianity. Importantly for our story, it also began to
connect evangelical Christianity with American national identity in new ways.
(07:20):
The Revivalists of the Second Great Awakening saw America as
a nation with a special divine purpose. They believed that
America could be redeemed and perfected through widespread conversion and
moral reform. This gave rise to numerous social reform movements,
some of which were genuinely progressive for their time, including abolitionism, temperance,
and women's rights. But it also planted the seeds of
(07:43):
an idea that would grow over the following centuries that
America's fate was tied to its Christian character, and that
maintaining or restoring that Christian character was essential to national success.
This religious fervor merged with political expansion in the concept
of manifest destiny. During the mid eighteen hundreds, as the
United States expanded westward, many Americans came to believe that
(08:05):
this expansion was not just politically or economically advantageous, but
divinely ordained. Manifest destiny was the belief that God had
chosen America to spread across the continent, bringing Christianity and
civilization to supposedly lesser peoples. This ideology provided a religious
justification for the displacement and genocide of Native Americans, the
(08:27):
annexation of Mexican territory, and eventually American imperialism beyond the
continental United States. It was Christian nationalism applied to foreign
policy and territorial expansion, the idea that American expansion was
good because America was Christian, and therefore American power served
God's purposes. The Civil War presented a fascinating and troubling
(08:49):
case study in competing Christian nationalisms. Both the Union and
the Confederacy claimed God's favor and interpreted the conflict for
Christian frameworks. Confederate leaders explicitly identi their cause with Christianity,
arguing that slavery was publicly sanctioned and that the South
was defending Christian civilization against Northern aggression. Confederate Vice President
(09:10):
Alexander Stevens declared that the Confederacy's cornerstone rested upon the
great truth that the Negro is not equal to the
white man, and he claimed this was in accordance with
the Creator's design. Meanwhile, abolitionists in the North also drew
on Christian arguments, pointing to Biblical themes of liberation, justice,
and human dignity. Abraham Lincoln's second inaugural address, delivered near
(09:34):
the war's end in eighteen sixty five, offered a more
humble and searching reflection. Both sides read the same Bible
and prayed to the same God, Lincoln observed, and each
invokes his aid against the other. As we move into
the twentieth century, we see the development of competing visions
for how Christianity should engage with American society. The social
Gospel movement, which flourished from the eighteen eighties through the
(09:56):
nineteen twenties, emphasized Jesus's teachings about caring for the poor
and pursuing social justice. Social Gospel leaders argued that Christians
should work to address poverty, inequality, labor exploitation, and other
social problems. They saw Christianity as a force for progressive reform.
At the same time, a fundamentalist movement was emerging in
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reaction to both modernist theology and social change. Fundamentalists emphasized
biblical literalism, personal salvation, and separation from worldly corruption. They
tended to view social gospel activism as misguided, arguing that
the church's primary mission was saving souls, not reforming society.
This tension between social gospel progressivism and fundamentalist conservatism would
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shape American Christianity throughout the twentieth century. Initially, after the
embarrassment of the Scope's Monkey Trial in nineteen twenty five,
fundamentalists largely retreated from political engagement, focusing instead on building
separate institutions like Bible colleges, publishing houses, and radio ministries,
but this withdrawal would not last. The nineteen fifties brought
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a new development in the relationship between Christianity and American nationalism.
The Cold War created an existential threat in the form
of atheistic Soviet communism, and American leaders increasingly defined America
in opposition to Soviet atheism by emphasizing America's religious character.
This was the era when under God was added to
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the Pledge of Allegiance in nineteen fifty four and in
God we trust became the official national motto. In nineteen
fifty six, President Dwight Eisenhower, who was baptized while in office,
famously declared that our form of government has no sense
unless it is founded in a deeply felt religious faith.
And I don't care what it is. That last phrase
is telling. The religious faith being promoted was often quite generic,
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a kind of civil religion that united Americans across denominational lines,
but the effect was to solidify in the popular imagination
the idea that being American meant being religious, specifically Christian,
and America's strength came from its faith. This Cold War
conflation of Christianity with Americanism created fertile ground for what
would emerge in the nineteen seventies and nineteen eighties, the
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rise of the religious right as a powerful political force.
Several factors converged to mobilize conservative evangelical Christians politically. School
prayer decisions in the early nineteen sixties upset many conservative Christians,
who saw these Supreme Court rulings as removing God from
public schools. The cultural upheavals of the nineteen sixties and
early nineteen seventies, including the Sexual Revolution, the women's liberation
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movement and changing attitudes toward authority alarmed religious conservatives who
saw traditional morality under attack. The Roe Versus Wide decision
legalizing abortion in nineteen seventy three became a rallying point,
though interestingly, evangelical opposition to abortion was not immediate or
universal at first. Some historians have noted that the initial
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catalyst for evangelical political mobilization was actually the Irs threatening
to revoke the tax exempt status of racially segregated Christian schools,
with abortion becoming the more publicly palatable cause later. Three
key figures shaped the emergence of the religious right as
a political powerhouse. Jerry Fowell, a Baptist pastor from Virginia,
founded the Moral Majority in nineteen seventy nine. The organization
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explicitly aimed to mobilize conservative Christians to influence elections and policy.
Fowell declared that the idea that religion and politics don't
mix was invented by the Devil to keep Christians from
running their own country. Pat Robertson, a televangelist who founded
the Christian Broadcasting Network, brought charismatic Christianity into the political arena.
Robertson ran for president in nineteen eighty eight and later
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founded the Christian Coalition, which became one of the most
effective political organizing tools of the nineteen nineties. Perhaps less
well known, but equally influential was Francis Schaeffer, a theologian
and filmmaker whose books and documentaries argued that America had
been founded on Christian principles but had abandoned them, leading
to moral and culture decay. Schaeffer's work provided an intellectual
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framework that helped many evangelicals overcome their previous reluctance to
engage in politics. The Moral Majority and similar organization successfully
mobilized millions of conservative Christians to vote primarily for Republican
candidates who promise to oppose abortion, support traditional family values,
and restore America's Christian heritage. This political mobilization fundamentally transformed
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American politics. Evangelical Christians became a core Republican constituency, and
Republican politicians increasingly adopted the language and policy priorities of
the religious right. This era established patterns that continue today.
The close identification of conservative Christianity with conservative politics, deframing
of political battles as spiritual warfare, and the claim that
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America's survival depends on returning to Christian values. But we
need to understand the theological ideas that underpen Christian nationalism
because these beliefs drive the movement's goals and strategies. One
key concept dominionism, sometimes called the Seven Mountains mandate. This
theology teaches that Christians are called to take dominion over
seven key spheres of society, religion, family, education, government, media,
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arts and entertainment, and business. The idea is that Christians
should not just participate in these areas, but should seek
to control them and govern them according to biblical principles.
Dominionism is rooted in a particular interpretation of Genesis chapter one,
verse twenty eight, where God tells Adam and Eve to
be fruitful and multiply and have dominion over the earth.
Dominionist thinkers argue that this cultural mandate was never rescinded,
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and that Christians today are called to exercise dominion over
all aspects of culture and society. A related and more
extreme theology is Christian reconstructionism, also called theonomy. Reconstructionists following
theologians like Rausis John Rushdoony, argue that biblical law, including
Old Testaments, civil and judicial laws should be the dasis
(15:58):
for modern governance. This would mean applying biblical punishments for
various offenses, potentially including the death penalty for adultery, homosexuality, blasphemy,
and rebellious children. While full reconstructionism remains a fringe position,
its ideas have influenced broader Christian nationalists thinking about the
relationship between biblical law and civil law. Another important theological
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divide concerns eschatology, or beliefs about the end times. Pre
millennialists believe that Jesus will return before establishing his thousand
year reign on earth. This view, popularized through the Left
Behind book series, tends to emphasize personal salvation and can
lead to a more pessimistic view of human efforts to
improve society. If the world is destined to get worse
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before Jesus returns, why invest energy in political or social reform. Postmillennialists,
by contrast, believe that Jesus will return after Christians have
successfully established God's kingdom on earth. This theology creates a
much stronger imperative for Christian political and cultural engagement. If
Christians are supposed to create the conditions for Christ's return.
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By christianizing society, then political power becomes a theological necessity.
Central to Christian nationalists thinking is a particular approach to
Biblical interpretation that emphasizes literalism and inerrancy. This approach tends
to read contemporary political issues directly into Biblical texts, finding
divine mandates for specific policy positions. It also tends to
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collapse the distinction between ancient Israel as a covenant nation
and modern America, reading Old Testament promises and warnings to
Israel as if they applied directly to the United States.
This interpretive move allows Christian nationalists to claim that America's
prosperity and security depend on its obedience to God, just
as ancient Israels did. It is crucial to understand that
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these theological perspectives differ significantly from mainstream Christian theology across
many denominations. Most mainline Protestant denominations, the Catholic Church and
Eastern Orthodox Churches, reject Christian nationalist theology. They affirmed the
separation of church and state, embrace religious pluralism, and distinguish
between the church's mission and the state's role. Even within evangelicalism.
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Many leaders and scholars have criticized Christian nationalism as a
distortion of Christianity that confuses political power with spiritual faithfulness.
So how did religious identity become so thoroughly intertwined with
political identity for so many Americans? This is one of
the most important questions we can ask, because it gets
at the heart of how we arrived at our current moment.
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The process happened gradually through the accumulation of historical moments
and deliberate organizing efforts. The Cold War established Christianity as
a defining American characteristic in opposition to atheistic communism. The
cultural upheavals of the nineteen sixties and seventies created a
sense of crisis among religious conservatives, who felt their values
were under attack. Political operatives recognized that religious conservatives represented
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a huge voting block that could be mobilized with the
right messaging. Religious leaders found that political engagement brought influence, visibility,
and resources. Conservative media, from Christian radio to Fox News
to social media, created echo chambers where Christian nationalist narratives
were constantly reinforced. Certain historical moments accelerated this merger of
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religious and political identity. The school prayer decisions of the
early nineteen sixties were perceived as at tax on Christianity
and public life. The roverss Wade decision created a galvanizing
issue that cut across denominational lines. The Reagan presidency in
the nineteen eighties gave the religious right a champion in
the White House who spoke their language and validated their concerns.
The culture wars of the nineteen nineties over issues like
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gay rights, abortion, and education intensified the sense that America
was in a spiritual battle. The September eleventh terrorist attacks
in two thousand and one reinforced civilizational thinking that pitted
the Christian West against Islam. The election of Barack Obama
in two thousand and eight triggered anxieties about demographic and
cultural change among some white Christians. The legalization of same
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sex marriage in twenty fifteen represented from many religious conservatives
a fundamental defeat that required more aggressive political action, and
the presidency of Donald Trump, with his explicit appeals to
Christian nationalist themes despite his personal lifestyle, demonstrated how completely
religious and political identity had merged for many conservative Christians.
Throughout this history, we see a pattern of religious identity
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being mobilized for political purposes and political identity being sanctified
through religious language. The result is a worldview in which
political opponents are not just wrong but evil, where a
compromise feels like betrayal of divine truth, and where losing
political battles threatens not just policy preferences but eternal destiny.
When politics becomes religion and religion becomes politics, the stakes
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become infinite and the possibility of democratic coexistence becomes much
more difficult. Understanding this history is essential for understanding where
we are today. Christian nationalism did not appear suddenly or
out of nowhere. It is the product of specific theological developments,
deliberate political organizing, historical circumstances, and the gradual fusion of
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religious and national identity. The ideas that drive Christian nationalism
today the belief in America as a Christian nation, the
conviction that Christian values should govern public policy, the fear
that Christianity is under attack and needs political power to survive.
All of these have deep roots in American history, but
as we have seen, these ideas represent a particular interpretation
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of that history, one that simplifies selectively remembers and often
contradicts the historical record. The Founders created a secular government
that protected religious freedom, precisely by not favoring any religion.
The Social Gospel tradition offered a very different vision of
Christian political engagement, focused on justice for the marginalized rather
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than cultural dominance, and mainstream Christian theology across many traditions
has consistently rejected the conflation of Christian faith with national
identity or political power. As we close this first episode,
I want you to sit with the complexity of what
we have explored. History is never as simple as we
would like it to be. The relationship between Christianity and
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American identity has always been contested, negotiated, and evolving. What
we call Christian nationalism today is a specific ideology with
specific historical origins, not an inevitable or natural expression of
Christian faith or American patriotism. In our next episode, we
will examine Christian nationalism as it exists today, exploring its
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core beliefs, its political manifestations, and its impact on American
democracy and religious pluralism. We will see how these historical
roots have flowered into contemporary movements and what The stakes
are for all Americans, regardless of their religious beliefs or
lack thereof. Thanks for listening to Christian Nationalism. Please subscribe
(22:57):
to stay with us through this series. This episode was
brought to you by Quiet Please Podcast Networks. For more
content like this, please go to Quiet Please dot ai Quiet,
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